Monday, May 30, 2005

It is good that California Connected is covering issues related to public schools, but your story for May 27, which I watched on May 30, 2005, on KVIE in Sacramento. uses an inappropriate and biased frame for the story. Your intro to the teachers said that there was a conflict between the Governor and the Teachers Union, and that teachers were caught in the middle. Your frame repeats the viewpoint of the governor’s press people which is far from objective. Notice that the teachers did not respond to your frame and instead commented on some of the current problems of schools. Last week you gave the Governor the opportunity to tell his view. Now, you have selected three teachers to give their view. It would be appropriate to provide the union with the opportunity to respond. After all, they were able to turn out 20,000 teachers this week in Sacramento and some 10,000 in Los Angeles. They may well represent a significant viewpoint in this conflict. In your framing of the story you have revealed an anti union bias. If you are unwilling to provide a fair and balanced approach, then I recommend that you at least contact Scott Plotkin of the California School Boards Association for a position independent of the Governor’s office. He is a well informed observor of these conflicts and he is not an advocate of the union position. I posted an excerpt of the script from your prior show on my web log www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot. com I will also be posting this response there. Feel free to respond to my criticism. This is a web log focusing on public education. I recommend that your producers do further reading in the field. The title of the log Choosing Democracy is the title of a book on education which I have written. ( 3rd. edition, 2004)There is much to be said about public schooling. I encourage your program to provide a more balanced and more comprehensive coverage.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

California has at least 1360 schools that are performing poorly. (Ed Source)By next year there will be more. In the next two to three years over 1000 additional schools will be classified as “failing” under the accountability provisions of No child Left Behind. Classification as failing will produce a series of increasingly harsh sanctions. The No child Left Behind system is based upon theories of incentives and accountability. The theory is that these schools fail because they lack the incentive to succeed. (the same theory as the Governor used in his proposal for ‘merit’ pay). Theories of incentives and accountability play well with the Business Roundtable and editorial writers- but they have failed in the schools. Things are getting worse, not better. One reason is that incentive theories assume that the problem of poor achievement is a lack of incentives for teachers. It is not. Teachers have the incentive to improve schools- they lack the resources and knowledge of how to improve the schools. Schools in California have failed to improve basically because the state has not provided sufficient resources and has not focused these resources on turning schools around. California currently ranks 44th in per pupil funding and 49th in class size. This is a failure of resources, not a failure of incentives. The nation has a number of policy experts who offer advice on improving schools. They are paid well and have good offices, secretarial support, and adequate resources- the schools do not. The policy positions come from people who seldom work in classrooms. Few of the proposals- none of the proposals of the governor- cme from people who are informed about classroom reality. How do you improve teacher performance and student performance? First step, schools need to begin with capacity building. Teachers need to time to plan, time to learn new systems, and time to work with their students. None of these are addressed by the Governor’s proposals. The current accountability system is not capable of driving school improvement. It is based on the theory of incentives- and it provides few additional resources and little capacity building. The accountability system (API) and the tests will not improve student achievement. Improving student achievement would require substantially more resources and skilled leadership. The governor’s budget does not provide the resources for change. And, as for leadership, the governor has appointed Alan Bersin as Secretary of Education. Now, Alan Bersin is just now leaving the position as Superintendent of San Diego- where he failed to improve achievement. The chief policy advisor to the governor does not know how to imrpove school achievement- it is obvious. He failed to do so.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

It's not working. Not any of it. Not the rallies. Not the talk radio. Not the photo ops. Not the TV ads.

Especially not the record fundraising.

Here's a governor trying to sell himself as a "reformer" and raising political pot loads from special interests, much of it out of state. It gives new meaning to the term "political outsider."

"People don't want him in Florida raising money. They want him here fixing problems," says Republican political analyst Tony Quinn. "It's something these politicians don't seem to understand. As he raises special interest money, his mystique with the voters drops. Gray Davis is the best example of that."

Ask pollster Mark Baldassare to describe the current attitude of Californians toward Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he replies without hesitation: "Disappointment."

People are disappointed in all of Sacramento, the pollster adds. They had been hopeful after the Davis recall. Now they're back being grouchy.

Baldassare, who polls for the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, released a new survey Wednesday. About the only good news for Schwarzenegger is that he hasn't fallen farther into the tank than he was a month ago. But he hasn't started to climb out either.

Some key findings:

• Only 40% of adults approve of how Schwarzenegger is handling his job, compared with 60% in January and 64% a year ago.

• The Legislature shouldn't gloat. Its approval rating is even lower, at 26%, the lowest since the 2003 recall campaign. A year ago, it was 40%.

So there's a cause-and-effect here that's easy to see: Schwarzenegger constantly ridicules the Legislature. Democrats continually attack him. Both sides are effective, in a murder-suicide sort of way. Schwarzenegger also picked a fight with teachers, nurses, firefighters and cop unions and got badly beaten up.

• The public mood is sour; 57% think California is headed in "the wrong direction," up 13 points from a year ago.

• Schwarzenegger's idea of a special election, costing $70-million-plus in tax money, is very unpopular. Only 33% support it, down 12 points since January. Another 61% want to wait until the next regular election in June 2006 to vote on the governor's "reforms."

But Schwarzenegger sees himself leading a people's rebellion to force government reform. He warned legislators in his State of the State speech that if they together didn't reform government, "the people will rise up and reform it themselves. And I will fight with them."

A new Schwarzenegger biography traces the governor's early fascination with charismatic leaders who move people. It may help explain why he has focused on trying to rally the masses rather than negotiate with a coequal branch of government, to his detriment.

The book, "Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger," is written by veteran biographer Laurence Leamer, who also wrote a Kennedy family trilogy.

"Arnold admired such leaders as Charlemagne and Napoleon, who could take the inert, passive masses and forge them into a force to make history," Leamer writes. "As an Austrian, he had learned how Hitler had mesmerized the Austrian and German peoples."

Leamer quotes Schwarzenegger from 1975 interviews for a bodybuilding movie, "Pumping Iron." " 'I admired Hitler, for instance, because he came from being a little man with almost no formal education, up to power. And I admire him for being such a good public speaker and his way of getting to the people and so on. But I didn't admire him for what he did with it.' "

The author writes: "Arnold had parsed Hitler down the middle, celebrating the messianic skills and energy that brought him to power and detesting his abuse of that power…. Arnold believed that what America needed was a great leader with all the messianic skills of Hitler, but for good, not evil."

But whatever messianic skills Schwarzenegger possesses have been failing him. And so has the TV ad campaign aimed at selling Schwarzenegger and his spending "reform." In fact, people are ambivalent about his whole reform agenda, the Baldassare poll finds.

Examples:

• People give him much lower marks today than in January for "reforming" government — 40% approval now, 58% then.

• There isn't much enthusiasm for the governor's spending cap proposal. Only 43% support it. People like the idea of a cap (60%). But, by 2 to 1, they oppose a feature that would allow a governor to cut spending without legislative approval. That is being attacked as a "power grab."

• Redistricting reform leaves people cold. Only 41% support Schwarzenegger's proposal to strip the Legislature of its power to redistrict legislative and congressional seats. In fact, 52% say the system needs only "minor changes" or is "fine the way it is."

This is a different Schwarzenegger than a year ago — less conciliatory and compromising, more caustic and combative.

"He's rallying people in a different way," Baldassare notes. "He's still rallying his own core supporters. But he's also rallying the Democrats against him. He's a rallying figure — but not in a way he intended."

What would work for him?

• Forget the special election, saving money for grateful taxpayers.

• Do a mea culpa and return the $3.1 billion he promised schools in a budget deal last year.

• Negotiate a bipartisan spending cap, with less of a power grab and a softer hit to schools.

• Place the cap and redistricting on next June's ballot.

• Cool the money-raising.

• Turn the charm back on.

The alternative: Keep sliding into the common pool of political mediocrity.

Thousands of protesters from across Northern California blanketed the south lawn of the state Capitol on Wednesday in a mammoth gathering to accuse Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of turning his back on middle-class workers with his budget and ballot initiatives.The event drew busloads of teachers, nurses, firefighters, prison guards and other union members on a searing afternoon for a protest that ranked among the largest in recent years.

"It sends the message that there are a lot of people who are really concerned about what he is doing to the state," said Bill Jacks, a physical education teacher at Hemlock Elementary School in Vacaville.

Around him, protesters wearing union T-shirts and toting signs listened to union leaders speak and even sing out against the Republican governor. At times, the crowd chanted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Schwarzenegger's got to go."

Organizers furiously handed out bottles of water and granola bars to the crowds of people jammed together in the 90-degree weather. Paramedics helped at least three people who were overcome by the heat.

A crowd of at least 10,000 - organizers claimed more than 20,000 - collected in Sacramento. Thousands also held a similar protest in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

the Bee's Dan Weintraub is their current major editorial writer on both politics and education.On his web log of May 25, he says,

San Diego schoolsBad news and good news from San Diego. The bad news: A huge achievement gap remains between African-American and white kids in the public schools. The good news: black parents and community leaders are demanding that the gap be closed.

Posted by dweintraub at 07:30 AM

What he did not say. The just released superintendent of San Diego, was Alan Bersin, who Schwarzenegger appointed as Secretary of Education. Arnold claimed that Bersin had improved the schools.

Monday, May 23, 2005

Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. Congratulations to all on your graduation. I know that it has been a long, difficult journey.

We salute you. And, we congratulate you and your families.

This is a very important step forward. Now, next year, as new teachers, it will be even more difficult.

Let me begin with a quote from a hero of mine; Cesar Chavez.

“When we are really honest with ourselves, We must admit that our lives are all that really belong to us. So, it is how we use our lives that determines what kind of people we are. It is my deepest conviction that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage..is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally non violent struggle for justice. “ March, 1968.

Now, Our center does not ask you to sacrifice yourself. But we do ask you to dedicate yourself to the struggle for justice for your kids.

And, that is what teaching is. It is a dedication to struggle so that your kids learn to read, to write, to prepare for life and the work world, and to prepare for democractic citizenship.

Since its beginning back in 1976, our centers have been dedicated to the struggle for social justice, and to democracy.

That is what makes us different.

You may know that democracy is in danger today.

For example, look at the Governor’s refusal to adequately fund the schools. The fiscal reality is that California ranks 44 in per-pupil spending, 46th in pupil teacher ratio, 32 in teacher salaries and 29th. in education spending as a percentage of personal income. Last year the Governor took 2 Billion from the school budget to protect the tax breaks of the very rich. Then, last week he gave back 200 Million.

As a result, California ranks about 37th. in readng and math, and we have a over 50% drop out rate for Latinos, Blacks, and Hmong.

To under fund the schools, to deprive the children, is a choice our legislature and our governor makes each year in the budget. And, they are making it again this month.

So, if you are not interested in politics, I guess then that you are not interested in your children having quality schools and teachers.

And then, after failing to provide the funds, the elected officials and the public expect you to work even harder to make up for their failure to adequately fund the schools.

As my friend Cornel West says so well in his book, Democracy Matters, the dangers in our democracy are directly connected to our empire. The war, and empire, will take the lives of some of the students which you teach.

In the last three years we have spent $300 Billion in Iraq. California’s schools are under funded by at least 3 Billion. You figure it out.

And, social justice. It is not all kids who are failing. It is not all kids who are in a school with a scripted curriculum, bored, alienated. It is not 50% of all kids who will drop out and and end up in juvenile hall.

It is kids from poor families, working class families. Our goal has been to prepare you to change that. We want you to bring school success to all of these kids.

We must prepare our students to struggle for justice and to struggle for democracy. It’s a tough world out there. They need to know how to read, write, and to respect. They need to know how to make democracy work for them. Teaching these things will require a great deal of change.

As you now know, teaching is hard work. You will have too many children, with too many problems, and too few resources to help them.

Some of you will have principals who are weak- or incompetent. And some will have superintendents and governors who are more interested in making a name for themselves than in improving the schools.

There will be future crises. There will be a budget crisis in California for at least the next decade. You will need to fight for the resources for your kids. And, many of you will face personal crises in your lives and in your families.

When these things happen. We want you to take a deep breath, take a step back, and to stay focused on what is important. We want you to keep your eyes on the prize.

Justice for all.

AS the first step. The very first step. Is to join with thousands of other teachers this Wed. May 25th. for a march on the Capitol. Over 10,000 of us are going to visit the governor and talk with him about school funding. I hope to see you there. Bring your friends and families. Bring all of those who care about public schools.

And, just in case the governor decides to spend the day at his other home in Los Angeles, there will be another 20,000 teachers, nurses, fire fighters waiting for him there.

As you graduate, allow me to explain a very basic point. You are our BMED strategy for change. You are our hope for the future.

Our hope is to prepare teachers like you. And to fill the schools with teachers who care, with teachers willing to fight for their kids, to fight for justice. Good teachers make a difference in the lives of their kids.

So, you are our change strategy. Important. First step when you get to your new school, Make an ally. You need allies. We all need allies. Change occurs when people work together. Almost nothing is accomplished alone.

Second, keep in touch with us. Come back to our conference.You can follow the debates, participate in the debates and school battles on my blog. www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com

With this graduation, You are now a teacher

Once you get your feet firmly on the ground, we hope that you come back. In a couple of years come back and get a Masters degree with us in Bilingual/Multicultural Education.

As you know your classes this last year have often been rushed, Now is the time to learn by doing. Then, with some experience, come back for a Masters and together we can design a program to help you become a change agents.

Today is a day of celebration. You have earned it. Gracias, y buena suerte.

The governor's May Revision appears to acknowledge some of the funding problems facing our most challenged schools, but the Education Coalition is deeply disappointed that overall this budget revision cements the governor's broken promises to California's students and public schools and fails to provide any long term solutions.

Last year, students and public schools sacrificed $2 billion in ongoing cuts because the governor promised that our schools would receive their fair share of any additional state revenues and would be spared cuts in future years. The governor also promised during his campaign that he would protect Proposition 98, the voter approved measure that guarantees a minimum level of education funding.

With his May Revision and his flawed "Live Within Our Means" initiative, Gov. Schwarzenegger is breaking his word on both fronts and ignoring the will of the people.

In the short-term his budget proposal does little to help public schools and students and it fails to address the ongoing fiscal shortfalls in school districts throughout the state, guaranteeing more school closures, increases in class sizes, lay offs of teachers and support staff, and a devastating shortage of librarians, counselors and nurses. California's students deserve better.

In the long-term, his proposed budget initiative would exacerbate an already inadequate funding problem by eviscerating Prop. 98, eliminating the minimum funding protections for our schools at a time when they cannot afford to cut anymore.

The governor's budget plans and initiative proposals are in direct contrast to the priorities established by California voters. They cannot mask the fact the he has failed to offer any real solutions or plan to deal with the real problems facing our public schools.

The future of our state depends on giving our students access to a quality education. Our students and schools deserve better than broken promises.

Monday, May 16, 2005

The Governor on EducationWhen California Connected sat down to talk to Gov. Schwarzenegger about his ongoing efforts to transform California’s government, it was clear that education was very much on his mind.In last week’s program, the Governor said that budget reform was impossible without changing Proposition 98 and that, in spite of the billions spent on educating the state’s children, there is little accountability within the school system.This week, Gov. Schwarzenegger argues on behalf of his proposals to revise teacher tenure and salary. He also continues his rhetorical battle with the teachers union, defending his plans against their accusations while getting in a few jabs of his own.“The unions are actually holding us back,” he says, “from making progress in education.”

Hear the interview or read more here.http://www.californiaconnected.org/wp/archives/224Also, see the history of Alan Bersin

The governor's May Revision appears to acknowledge some of the funding problems facing our most challenged schools, but the Education Coalition is deeply disappointed that overall this budget revision cements the governor's broken promises to California's students and public schools and fails to provide any long term solutions.

Last year, students and public schools sacrificed $2 billion in ongoing cuts because the governor promised that our schools would receive their fair share of any additional state revenues and would be spared cuts in future years. The governor also promised during his campaign that he would protect Proposition 98, the voter approved measure that guarantees a minimum level of education funding.

With his May Revision and his flawed "Live Within Our Means" initiative, Gov. Schwarzenegger is breaking his word on both fronts and ignoring the will of the people.

In the short-term his budget proposal does little to help public schools and students and it fails to address the ongoing fiscal shortfalls in school districts throughout the state, guaranteeing more school closures, increases in class sizes, lay offs of teachers and support staff, and a devastating shortage of librarians, counselors and nurses. California's students deserve better.

In the long-term, his proposed budget initiative would exacerbate an already inadequate funding problem by eviscerating Prop. 98, eliminating the minimum funding protections for our schools at a time when they cannot afford to cut anymore.

The governor's budget plans and initiative proposals are in direct contrast to the priorities established by California voters. They cannot mask the fact the he has failed to offer any real solutions or plan to deal with the real problems facing our public schools.

The future of our state depends on giving our students access to a quality education. Our students and schools deserve better than broken promises.

By PEGGY ANDERSEN SEATTLE (AP) - Bill Gates raised some hackles with his withering assessment of American high schools, but at least the billionaire founder of Microsoft is putting his money where his mouth is. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $2.3 billion since 2000 in new visions of education, with smaller schools and more personalized instruction to prepare young people for the working world and post-high school learning.

The foundation has programs in 42 states and the District of Columbia; it supports more than 1,500 high schools - about half totally new and the others redesigned. Its three scholarship programs, designed to fill tuition gaps left by other grants and aid, have assisted more than 10,000 students.

At one of its schools, the Truman Center in Federal Way, about 20 miles south of Seattle, 12 teacher/advisers tend 208 students - helping them figure out what they care about and how to pursue it. Two days a week are set aside for job-shadowing and internships in the real world.

Shawn Dube was going nowhere in 2001 when he transferred to Truman, one of 16 schools in the state being transformed with a five-year grant and scholarships from the Gates Foundation's Achiever program.

``It was kind of a last-resort thing that I was there,'' recalls Dube, now 18.

An internship at an upscale local restaurant put Dube on his path. He found a mentor, eagerly honed his skills and is now a first-year student at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. He plans a stint in France and dreams of a restaurant of his own.

Shawn's mom, Kim Dube, credits the Gates program with giving Shawn the confidence to chase his dream and scholarships to finance it.

``My husband and I didn't go to college,'' Kim says. ``It just got him past that fear.''

Since 2000, the education branch of the Gates Foundation has been working to upgrade the nation's high schools, which Gates characterized as ``obsolete'' in a February speech to the National Governors Association.

In that speech, he spelled out his ``new three R's'' for building better high schools:

Rigor: Making sure all students are given a challenging curriculum that prepares them for college or work.

Relevance: Making sure kids have courses and projects that relate to their lives and their goals.

Relationships: Making sure kids have adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.

``The idea is that every district should have a rigorous academic alternative for kids who do not succeed in the traditional high school setting,'' said Gates Foundation spokeswoman Marie Groark.

Such alternatives don't come cheap. And with states struggling to pay for basic education and keep up federal accountability requirements - what happens when the five-year grants expire?

``If you don't get a commitment from the school district to continue, it's just an exercise you go through,'' said Leon Horne, a middle-school teacher and former union leader in Tacoma.

The foundation's intent with the grants is to get the ball rolling by demonstrating alternatives that work, Groark said. ``Our goal for all our work is sustainability - that we can disappear.''

Followup and monitoring will be essential, said Shirley Malcom, head of education and human resources at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C.

``The big question is the learning goals,'' Malcom said. ``What is it we want these children to know? ... Are they going to be job-ready, and are they going to be college-ready?''

New tests, mandated by federal law, are designed to help assess student progress.

The sustainability of the foundation's work will depend on whether it fosters innovation from inside or tries to impose it from outside, Malcom said. School districts will be more likely to support - and help spread - innovations developed within schools and communities.

That's a belief the foundation shares.

``When we give a grant, we give it because the community wants it and asks for it,'' Groark said. ``It's not the Gates Foundation telling the community to do something. It's the Gates Foundation supporting work that's already begun.''

There's no question that most high schools don't work, Malcom said. But the structure is very difficult to break down for various reasons, including the often massive size of the buildings themselves.

Creating small schools, usually schools within schools, has been a fundamental part of the foundation's approach.

The Truman Center, for example, has just six classrooms - crammed with projects, art, words of wisdom. ``Quiet rooms'' are set aside for those who need to concentrate. The only doors are on the bathrooms and to the outdoors.

``Our high schools were designed fifty years ago to meet the needs of another age,'' Gates told the governors in February.

``Until we design them to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will keep limiting - even ruining - the lives of millions of Americans every year,'' said Gates, himself a product of the rigorous standards and hands-on instruction at Seattle's private Lakeside School.

``Only one-third of our students graduate from high school ready for college, work, and citizenship,'' he said. ``The other two-thirds, most of them low-income and minority students, are tracked into courses that won't ever get them ready for college or prepare them for a family-wage job, no matter how well the students learn or the teachers teach.''

Despite his position atop one of the world's biggest technology companies, high-tech education reforms have been a small part of the foundation's work. Online schools are the subject of just two grants, totaling less than $3 million.

The foundation's education wing has a staff of about three dozen, eight or nine of whom monitor grant recipients.

At Truman, school officials write frequent reports to keep the foundation up to date, and foundation officials make yearly visits, said Principal Judy Kraft.

The foundation gets points from educators and observers for its hands-on approach.

``Their staffers are engaged in ways other funders are not engaged, in part because their staff comes from the education field. They're not heavy-handed at all,'' says Patricia Sullivan at the Center for Education Policy in Washington, D.C., which receives some funding from the Gates Foundation.

That's not to say all goes smoothly on foundation projects. In Tacoma, teacher Horne said, it took three years to work out union concerns and get teachers set up for foundation programs at three of the city's five high schools, a year longer than the usual training phase.

``I don't think they'd really thought the whole thing through,'' said Horne, who suggested the program's test run in Tacoma might have been more effectively conducted at a single school.

He also noted that the foundation's vision - of one teacher/adviser overseeing a small class throughout high school while teaching most subjects - seems to clash with the federal No Child Left Behind law, which calls for teachers with high expertise in specific subjects.

Still, across Washington state, where the foundation is based, it is generally acknowledged as a positive force, said Charles Hasse, president of the teachers union, the Washington Education Association.

Although teachers sometimes bristle at guidance from outsiders, he said, ``the people at the foundation are seen as partners at improving education and essentially allies of classroom teachers.''

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

In today’s Bee conservative columnist Dan Walters offers some speculation on “If Schwarzenegger can’t do it, A Democrat’s luck might be no better. May 11, 2005.Regular readers of the Bee know Walters to be the more conservative of the two major columnists. Weintraub – conservative,corporate view; Walters- more conservative.However, Walters is worth reading because he usually does an honest and open analysis of data and demographics.

Today’s essay posits 1) perhaps Arnold may not run for re-election, 2) if a Democrat were governor things would be equally incoherent.The basis for the Walter’s assertion is analyzing the failed term of former Governor Gray Davis, not looking at prior Republican governors.

The argument is well made as far as it goes. But, it is important to consider what is not said.Walters describes the failures of the Davis Administration and its defeat. He chronicles the ways that the Democratic majority in the Assembly and Senate forced a liberal agenda on the usually moderate Davis.What he does not describe is how Davis was brought down by two Tsunamis. First, the collapse of the dot come economy brought an economic crisis to the state. In the crisis liberals refused to cut social services and conservatives refused to raise taxes. Thus, the state fiscal crisis.Second, Walters forgets about the energy crisis, when a few corporations led by Enron looted the state treasury and caused energy blackouts. Beyond these two major issues, Walters presents an intriguing way to analyze the success or failure of administrations. I, for one, have never been able to understand why the Schwarzenegger Administration was willing to settle the Williams case (school funding) while the Davis Administration fought it using state resources.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

By Michael Kolber -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, May 10, 2005 Evidence continues to mount that California's high schools are not preparing graduates well for college or work, but few comprehensive solutions have materialized.

Monday the Legislative Analyst's Office unveiled a potential framework for improving high schools that taps into state and federal school programs already under way.

Elizabeth Hill, the Legislature's nonpartisan analyst, said she commissioned the report because she was frustrated that significant gains had not been made in high school student achievement or reducing dropout rates.

Paul Warren, the researcher who conducted the study, said he concluded that high schools would improve if they focused existing reform efforts on better preparing students for college and work. "We think high schools need to be more accountable for the transition of students to adult life," Warren said.The report is available at www.lao.ca.gov

The California State University system has a program that gives high school students an early indication of whether they are performing well enough and taking classes to prepare for college. The report recommends a similar approach in community colleges, with high schools coaching students earlier about career and community college paths.

The California community college chancellor's office did not respond to a request for comment.

The ideas mirror those proposed two years ago by Michael Kirst, a Stanford education professor who is a co-director of Policy Analysis for California Education. Kirst and the legislative analyst argued that community colleges should use the existing California high school standards tests to place students in college. This would better integrate high school and postsecondary programs and bolster the significance of the standardized tests, which currently have little consequence for individual students.

"High school students don't think the California Standards Test matters for anything. If they really understood it was a predictor of higher education success they might try harder on it," Kirst said Monday.

There is broad consensus that high schools need to improve. President Bush is seeking to include high schools in the strict sanctions of the No Child Left Behind education law, which currently applies only to elementary and middle schools.

California already applies those sanctions to high schools, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has made high school reform a priority.

Warren acknowledged that the legislative analyst's proposal likely would not receive serious consideration in the Legislature until next term. He said much could be accomplished through reallocation of existing programs, although the schools might need an additional $150 million for better counseling programs.####

Commentary :A positive contribution of this report is that it recognizes that most high school students will not graduate from a 4 year college, I believe the number is 16%, it is in the report. Thus, if most will not graduate from college, a high school experience should prepare the students for entrance into the skilled job market. This recognition is an improvement over the mantra of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

It is not surprising that the Legislative Analyst's Office proposes more accountability. And, in the view of the Bee writer, has the same recommendations as Michael Kirst of PACE.

I wonder why they focus on accountability? Perhaps it is because they are accountants. They have asked few teachers. They don't have a clue on how to fix the problem because they have not talked to the teachers. So, they turn to prior reports, also by policy people, and they conclude there is a need for more accounting.If they were dentists I think they would conclude that students need more dentists.

Having spent 30 + years in the schools, here are some basics.1. Develop decent school to work transition programs. This report by the Master Plan working group was ignored.2. Have sufficient counselors in schools. California ranks 49 out of 50 states in Counselors per student. So, students do not know why they are in school.3. Develop smaller, village high schools.

Each of the above is verifiable by data. The state should start collecting real data about real programs. That will, of course, require the researchers to leave their offices and interact with teachers.

The Murakami letter on this blog of two days ago offers some additional practical responses.

" The fiscal reality is that California ranks 44 in per-pupil spending, 46th in pupil teacher ratio, 32 in teacher salaries and 29th. in education spending as a percentage of personal income."That is, adequately fund the schools. We have failing high schools in large part because we fail to adequately fund the high schools and to consult with the teachers in those schools on school improvement.The legislature and the governor will repeat this process of inadequately funding the schools in June and July. Where is the accountability for elected representatives?

Monday, May 09, 2005

While we fight Arnold, some corporate leaders think that democracy is the problem. So.Cal's 4-billion-dollar big business education 'reformer' Eli Broad and his Broad Foundation is moving hard right now on wiping out democratically elected school boards in LA/SF/Oakland and Fresno. Broad and his big business allies apparently want mayor's of the big cities to choose school boards [following the big business reform models in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit,Philly, etc. ] Broad has worked with former LA Mayor Richard Riordan [currently Schwartenegger's head of the Education] to raise $2 million per election for their board of education slates and to eliminate independent, pro-labor andgrassroots candidates on LA's board of education.

Broad Foundation est. 1999This is the $400 million philanthropic vehicle for Los Angeles housing development andinvestments billionaire, Eli Broad (& wife Edythe), to take on K-12 education issues and develop a future standardized workforce of “knowledge workers.” The Foundation supports reforming urban public schools through entrepreneurial CEO-trained leadership, mayoral takeovers. Like many reactionary think tanks (Pioneer Institute, American Diploma Project, et al.), Broad Fdtn sees the main value of education in its output of skilled workers, hence the focus on standardized testing.The Fdtn’s three flagship initiatives are The Broad Prize for Urban Education, The Broad Center for Superintendents (nonprofit executive development center established by the Fdtn and former Michigan Governor, John Engler), and The Broad Institute for School boards.(1) Noelia Rodriguez, previously Laura Bush’s press secretary, has become Chief of Staff to Broad and will serve as Director of External Affairs for the Broad Foundation.(2)Broad is the son of Lithuanian immigrants. co-founder of two S&P 500 corporations—the enormously successful KB Homes and AIG SunAmerica Inc. Broad has bankrolled the Eli Broad College of Business & Eli Broad Graduate School of Management at Michigan State University, the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the LA Philharmonic (recruited by Mayor Dick Riordan and completed 10/03), Broad Art Foundation (international art “lending library”) and BroadContemporary Art Museum at LACMA (in works).(3) Broad was appointed to Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial transition team.(4) Broad is currently fundraising for Democratic Presidential candidate Wes Clark (previously Broad chose Clark to run LA Unified).BROAD & the OAKLAND UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 2001• Broad Institute for School boards pays for OUSD school board field trip to the Museum of Tolerance to learn tolerance for each other.(6)2003• Dr. Randolph Ward was selected for Urban Superintendents Academy by the Broad Center for Superintendents,• Eli Broad advises SPI Jack O’Connell and Mayor Jerry Brown on appointing anadministrator for OUSD.(5)• SPI Jack O’Connell appoints Ward as the OUSD administrator• Ward appoints Arnold “Woody” Carter as his Chief of Staff. Carter is one of Ward’sBroad Academy cohort.(6)• Monique Epps is hired for OUSD finance office; Broad Foundation covers 75% of her salary.(5)Eli Broad on OUSD takeover:“We’ll be observing from a distance, but we won’t be running the district in any way shape or form.” (5)(1) www.broadfoundation.org; (2) “Career Track: the First Noelia” The Hotline, 10/7/03; (3) Eli Broadhttp://www.bus.msu.edu/information/about/elibroad.html; (4) “California transition: Schwarzenneger’s team” SFChronicle 10/10/03; (5) Alex Katz “executives trained by turnaround nonprofit” Alameda Times-Star 8/11/2003; (6) “Schooldistrict names chief of staff” Contra Costa Times 8/8/2003& Broad Center for Superintendents Alumni profiles

Failed education policy.Daniel Weintraub’s commentaries [in the Sacramento Bee] on April 28 and May 1 illustrate a fundamental misconception abouot education that is shared by the governor. The fiscal reality is that California ranks 44 in per-pupil spending, 46th in pupil teacher ratio, 32 in teacher salaries and 29th. in education spending as a percentage of personal income. Since 1998 state revenues have grown by 31 percent, while education spending has increased by only 24 percent, and non-education spending by 44 percent. For the governor and Weintraub to blame education and Proposition 98 for the budget deficit is clearly off the mark. The teachers’ organizations showed their social conscience by negotiating a temporary $2 billion budget decrease to help other vital social programs. Instead of renegotiating with them this year, the governor shut his doors and proposes not to pay back the money while making deeper cuts in education, permanently altering Proposition 98, privatizing teacher retirement, instituting merit pay and delaying tenure review. And the governor and Weintraub wonder why the unions and the PTA are so upset. Schwarzenegger hasn’t “failed to communicate” his educational policy. He has communicated a failed education policy.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Why have we heard little about the Governor’s “Merit Pay” initiative?According to Sacramento Bee on line web log of today by columnist Dan Weintraub, the Governor’s advisors may have stumbled again.

“The labor coalition opposing his measures and the California Teachers Assn. are circulating a legal analysis that says Schwarzenegger’s measure would inadvertently gut current provisions that prohibit school districts from hiring convicted felons, sex offenders, drug users or teachers who have yet to pass a minimum competency exam.’ www.sacbee.com/ (5/5/05)

The Merit Pay proposal is a constitutional amendment. As such it supercedes existing laws.CTA says the initiative is unecessary: “Existing law already gives every local school district an evaluation process to use to fire teachers for unsatisfactory performance, unprofessional conduct, dishonesty, criminal acts or other inappropriate conduct. Therefore, this initiative is unnecessary.” www.cta.org

So, in his haste to respond to the far right, the governor has again proposed an initiative that would make things worse. Why does he do these things?

Well, CTA seems to have it right when they argue:

“This initiative is simply a smokescreen to divert attention from the fact that the governor broke his promise to students and schools about fully funding education and that he wants to gut Proposition 98, the law approved by California voters to guarantee minimum funding to our schools. His budget proposals cut school funding by $25,000 per classroom.”

WE in California then will have an election, costing some $60 million dollars, in order to divert attention from the real school crises in this state; under funding and lack of leadership.

This blog was initiated to keep track of such nonsense and to help organize broad support for public schools. Public support is most needed under this current, irresponsible administration. I encourage readers to write letters to the editors about this and to join in with one of the campaigns. Comments are welcome.

See www.cta.org http://www.allianceforabetterca.org/Prepare for the demonstrations in Sacramento and Los Angeles on May 25, 2005.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

As most of you know, I lived in San Diego for 13 years, during which time I worked closely with San Diego City Schools. Bersin and all that he ushered in is one reason I left San Diego and tell people not to go there until he is gone.

At one point at the end of his first reign of terror, the teachers voted a 96% vote of no confidence in him. Yet, the Business Roundtable that was responsible for getting him into the position, managed to get the Board to give him another term.

Bersin is not just a lawyer, he is an immigration lawyer with all the wrong values. He has never been an educator, nor do I think he is interested in being one. Most people who interact with him feel that he is using his superintency as merely a stepping stone in his career. He does not go out of his way to learning about teaching and learning, and his style is autocratic and abrupt, if not harsh.

During his first two weeks in the superintendency, he fired over 100 principals. Hundreds of the best teachers in SDUSD left teaching, and the wonderful union president, Mark Knapp, fought him for several years, and then resided and went back to the classroom. During the first years of his tenure, he arranged for Tony Alvarado to commute from New York to San Diego. He did not want to move, so they alloted him a $100,000 per year travel allowance. Tony has his own reputation and history. Although he is noted for major improvements in NYC District 2, it turns out that district two is bimodel with very high income residents as well as poor residents. The school improvements were only in the high-income schools, but his reputation is built on the myth of reforming district 2. Tony left his wife, and eventually settled in San Diego, but no longer works with the district.

At one point while I was teaching at SDSU, we invited Tony to come and discuss his NYC "successes" and the blueprint for SDCS. He sent someone else. At that meeting, we learned that Bersin had given back a $16 million NSF grant because SDCS would not be teaching science until the reading scores were up. Literally all science classes were cancelled for two years at least (I had left by then.)

Bersin is a political animal at his best. He has managed to get some Gates funding. He has some alliances with Linda Darling-Hammond's graduate students who report that all these changes took place without administrators resigning or leaving (AERA 2003). The man is scarey not only for what he stands for, but for the number of outstanding educators whose careers he has hurt, and all the arbitrary decisions he has made which hurt students.

This news is just absolutely awful. It was bad enough that he wangled onto CTC. ENOUGH! Let's launch a campaign to make him Senator of Arizona or something and get him want he wants so he stops ruining education.